Father Geist is an app designed to curate entertainment content. It exists in the space between Rotten Tomatoes, traditional long form criticism and algorithm derived recommendations.
I have considered the role of criticism in media - and the lack of user trust in mathematical and algorithm based recommendations. Father Geist aims to bridge the gap between new media platforms and traditional long-form criticism. Based on this understanding it was worthwhile to explore this need.
The film/streaming landscape has become overwhelming for viewers. An algorithm can make recommendations based on your past viewing patterns. However, 50% of viewing decisions are made based on recommendations by friends or third party sources. Most critics still write long form reviews that the average viewer won’t read. Rotten Tomatoes and other outlets generalize media with numbers and grades that are increasingly irrelevant to niche audiences that most media now targets. These grades may keep viewers from seeing programming they’d actually like.
Father Geist curates material in the crowded landscape of film and tv choices. The problem I'm solving is how to best communicate to users quickly and visually what they should watch and why.
Rotten Tomatoes was originally appealing and remains relevant today because it's a quick snapshot of overall quality.
Their percentage based system is too generalized for the level of targeting of today's streaming content.
There is a need for a curated list of content across platforms, much like a New York Times best seller list, that's relevant, succinct and visual in a way that quickly communicates to a viewer whether they might be interested in highlighted media.
It was helpful to identify what methods of building an audience were successful in newer media companies as well as what aspects of traditional media remains relevant despite attempts at disrupting it.
Word of mouth is still one of the strongest incentives to watch something. The guiding goal in developing this solution was determining the sweet spot between traditional criticism and automatic recommendations.
Father Geist curates a 'what to watch guide' aiming to bridge the gap between traditional media and metrics based rankings. Quick reference visuals are a paramount part of the user experience.
The solution used iOS widgets to deliver information in a concise and ever present manner.
